VETS GWAC
SF 33 for Industry Partner
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VETS GWAC
SECTION B
SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COST
B.1 General
This contract is titled the Veterans Technology Services Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (VETS GWAC or VETS) and is available for use by both Federal Civilian Agencies and the Department of Defense by virtue of the GSA’s Executive Agent Designation from the Office of Management and Budget. It has a base period of five years and one five-year option for a total of ten contract years (actual calendar dates will be set beginning with the date of the notice to proceed).
VETS GWAC consists of a number of indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contracts designed to provide Federal Government information technology (IT) services and solutions primarily consisting of IT services
The contracts are solution-based. VETS GWAC contractors are free to propose the best solution to the specific task order requirement provided each order consists principally of IT services. Unless excepted (see FAR 16.505(b)(2)), each task order will be competed under the fair opportunity competitive procedures. The Fair Opportunity competitive procedures will maintain an ongoing competitive environment throughout the life of the contracts
B.2 CONTRACT MINIMUM/MAXIMUM
The minimum guaranteed amount for each award will be $2,500. Orders beyond the minimum will be determined by user needs and the results of fair opportunity competitions. The exercise of the option period does not re-establish the contract minimum.
The Government has no obligation to issue task orders to the Contractor beyond the minimum amount specified above. While the awarded contractors will receive the minimum, it is intended that the contractors will compete for that amount under the contract’s fair opportunity procedures. If at the end of the base period of the contract, a contractor has not been awarded a task order(s) of at least $2,500 in total value, the program office may direct awards to meet the contractual obligation pursuant to FAR 16.505(2)(iv).
The maximum cumulative dollar amount that may potentially be awarded, to all contractors combined, is $5 Billion
B.3 WORK ESTIMATES (HOURS AND ODCS) & ROLES
This is a new Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) program of the General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), Small Business GWAC Center. There is no relevant historical sales trend that may be utilized to project with reasonable certainty, with any degree of reasonable accuracy, the nature or volume of work likely under these Contracts. GSA does not have projects designated/earmarked for this Contract program and they are not guaranteed to be forthcoming. The different Federal Government entities/potential clients of these Contracts will make their own decisions on the benefits of utilizing VETS GWAC (SB) contracts for IT requirements. Furthermore, the Multiple Award Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (MAIDIQ) contracts awarded under this GWAC are subject to Fair Opportunity procedures emphasizing competition among firms in the selected Functional Areas (FAs). At this time, the breakdown of fixed-price, time & materials and labor hour order distribution is unknown. Also unknown is the location of work and the breakdown of Government site and Contractor site work. Additionally, there is uncertainty regarding the amount of supplies, travel, incidental construction and other direct costs that will be required, although market research reveals that they will be necessary in some cases. Furthermore, requirements may range from simple to highly complex.
The Government will be obligated to Contract holders only for services, items and quantities specified, approved and definitized in a valid Order issued under an awarded Contract, or, in the event of no Order issuance, for the minimum guarantee established in Section B and elaborated upon in Section H.
B.4 SUPPLIES/SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS
Task orders awarded under this contract may be issued as Fixed-Price (FP), Time and Materials (T&M) or Labor-Hour (L-H), plus Incentive arrangements coupled to the previous types, as defined in FAR Part 16. The prices/costs will be applied to individual task order types as follows:
(SEE EXCEL SPREADSHEETS FOR PRICING IN LEFT HAND NAVIGATION OF VETS WESITE UNDER VETS CONTRACT LIBRARY ENTITLED, “VETS CONTRACT PRICING INFORMATION”)
B.4.1Fully Loaded Ceiling Rates
These price schedules contain the loaded hourly rates for work performed at any location within CONUS. “Fully loaded hourly ceiling rate” is defined as the direct hourly labor rate that include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, profit, fringe benefits, direct tax/labor/payroll burden and contract access fee. The loaded hourly ceiling rates set forth in this schedule are fully burdened, not-to-exceed, ceiling prices. The contractor may, at its discretion, propose lower loaded hourly ceiling rates on a task-by-task order basis (and this result is typical). Contractors shall post their ceiling rates at their individual VETS GWAC Web Sites.
B.4.2Adjustments to Contract Ceiling Rates
The fully loaded ceiling rates set forth in the price schedules apply to contract years 1 through 5. For contract years 6 through 10, Option Period One (1), the fully loaded ceiling rates will be adjusted in accordance with Section B.9 of this contract. Any adjustments to ceiling rates will be enacted by contract modification and will become effective on the date shown in the modification.
B.4.3Adjustments to Task Order Hourly Rates
Labor-hour (L-H) and time-and-materials (T&M): Task order loaded (loaded pursuant to the specific terms for T&M and L-H loading discussed in this Section B) hourly rates may be adjusted, if specified in the task order Statement of Work (SOW), for each of the option years by applying no more than the same adjustment factor to the task order rates as was applied to the loaded contract ceiling hourly rates. The specific escalation shall be fully definitized in the applicable order, else escalation is not permitted. If an order does not specifically provide for such adjustment, no such adjustment is permitted (order level escalation is not automatic, shall not be presumed, and doesn’t inhere from the Contract to task orders) – the parties to the order may not write it in after the fact.
Fixed Price (FP) tasks:
Fixed price task orders and their option periods, if any, shall be fully definitized and pre-priced. Unless the Order definitizes an Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) or escalation, none applies (Contract level EPA or escalation doesn’t apply to task orders).
Economic Price Adjustment when Escalation of Order Prices Isn’t Applied - if a task order contains option periods, the task order shall be pre-priced for every period. Such pricing may be pre-priced for each of the option years and coupled with an order specific EPA if order specific EPA terms are fully definitized in the applicable order, else order specific EPA is not permitted. If an order does not specifically provide definitized EPA, no order specific EPA is permitted (order specific EPA is not automatic and shall not be presumed) – the parties to the order may not write it in after the fact.
Escalation of Order Priceswhen an Economic Price Adjustment Isn’t Applied - if a task order contains option periods, the task order shall be pre-priced for every period. Such pricing may be pre-priced for each of the option years by applying no more than the same adjustment factor to the loaded hourly rates negotiated for the task as was applied to the loaded contract ceiling hourly rates in B.7. Such adjustments shall be fully definitized in the applicable order, else escalation isn’t permitted. If an order does not specifically provide definitized escalation, no escalation is permitted (escalation is not automatic and shall not be presumed) – the parties to the order may not write it in after the fact.
B.4.4 (Removed May 2010)
B.4.5Application of the Service Contract Act (SCA)
The vast majority of labor categories identified in this solicitation are professional IT positions and thus exempt from the SCA. In accordance with Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Labor Standards for Federal Service Contract, the General Services Administration (GSA) considers the Service Contract Act (SCA) to not apply to this contract based upon its principal purpose.
B.4.6 Information Technology Task Orders Involving Some Construction Work
In accordance with FAR 22.402(b) and Section C.8 of this contract, the Davis-Bacon Act may not apply to certain non-construction contracts where some minor construction occurs incidental to the rest of the task order. Specifically, if the construction work is incidental to furnishing IT services and is so merged with the IT portion of the contract that the construction is not capable of being segregated as a separate contractual requirement, it may not be subject to Davis-Bacon.
When minor construction is required as an integral part of a task order, the Ordering Contracting Officer (OCO) is required to document the Task Order file that the construction portion of the task order is 1) within scope, 2) subject or not subject to the Davis Bacon Act, and 3) fairly and reasonably priced and the basis therefore.
Should the Davis-Bacon Act apply to the construction portion of a Task Order, it is the responsibility of the Ordering Contracting Officer (OCO) to address any previous union agreements and obtain the applicable Wage Rate Determinations from the Department of Labor. Construction contracting is a contracting specialization in the Government, and ordinarily requires highly specific requirements, specifications, plans, terms and conditions. OCO’s are cautioned to only include construction up to the defined limits and with proper attention to detail.
There is additional coverage on construction in Section C.
B.5 RESERVED
B.6 FULLY LOADED HOURLY CEILING RATES
The labor pricing schedules that follow call for hourly ceiling rates, which are the maximum fully loaded hourly rates to be proposed for work for entities authorized in the current version of GSA ADM 4800.2? which is currently GSA Order ADM 4800.2H. (
When formulating each hourly ceiling rate, the CAF shall be applied last.
The Government will neither pay a premium/differential for overtime (work in excess of 40 hours in a week), nor for work during irregular hours, weekends or holidays.
The ceiling rates do not serve as a mechanical measure of the rates to be quoted or proposed at the order level. All order rates must be lower than or equal to the ceiling rates (work scope specifics and competition will influence the rates a contractor chooses to quote or propose for a task order opportunity.)
Each offeror shall propose ceiling prices in the pricing schedules for all labor categories and all periods of the FAs applied for. Failure to propose pricing for all labor categories and all periods of the FAs applied for shall result in disqualification of the offer in the FA(s) in which the omission occurs.
The hourly ceiling price proposed shall apply uniformly regardless of actual utilization (i.e., even if only 5 hours of the estimated hours are ordered, the hourly ceiling rate shall be the same.)
All line items shall be separately orderable. Pricing for all line items must stand-alone and not be dependent upon the ordering of any other line items.
The labor categories and ceiling rates apply to a prime Contractors' subcontractor support at any tier.
The attached labor category descriptions are stated in terms of minimum qualifications/responsibilities and do not attempt to delineate the universe of responsibilities associated with a labor category by the commercial market. Contractors shall not be allowed to divert work from pre-defined labor categories to other labor categories based on a restrictive or hyper technical reading of labor category descriptions.
The following numbered notes apply to all pricing tables:
1. Minor (incidental) construction work subject to the Davis-Bacon Act that is ordered under this contract pursuant to the acceptable use terms established for its inclusion shall not exceed 10% of cumulative earned order value at any time during the life of this contract
2. The price evaluation case will be made on 100% of the extended item totals. This methodology doesn’t constitute a promised level of business or alter the minimum guarantee
3. In no event will the Government agree to an individual item price or rate that is unreasonable, even if the arithmetic is satisfactory in the price evaluation case
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VETS GWAC
B.7 CONTRACT LINE ITEMS - FUNTIONAL AREA ONE (1) - SYSTEMS OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
SEE EXCEL PRICING TABLES RELEASED IN AMENDMENT 1 ATTACHMENT 5. B.8 was replaced by the Excel Spreadsheet in Amendment #2.
B.8 CONTRACT LINE ITEMS - FUNTIONAL AREA TWO (2) – INFORMATION SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
SEE EXCEL PRICING TABLES RELEASED IN AMENDMENT 1 ATTACHMENT 5. B.8 was replaced by the Excel Spreadsheet in Amendment #2.
B.9 OPTION PERIOD ONE (1) – YEARS SIX (6) THROUGH TEN (10)
Pricing for Option Period One (1) will be evaluated using the ceiling rates and ceiling multipliers designated in Year Five (5) of the pricing tables for the base period. The base period Year Five rates and multipliers will be extrapolated out to years six through ten automatically by the Government for proposal evaluation purposes.
The actual ceiling rates and ceiling multipliers for Option Period One (1) will be determined by escalating the proposed Year Five (5) ceiling rates and ceiling multipliers utilizing the latest methodology and basis for the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Employment Cost Index (ECI). The ECI for “Professional, Specialty, and Technical Occupations” will be controlling. A simple “percentage” method will be used.
The Government does not intend to perform redeterminations or apply escalated rates retroactively. The escalation will not apply to orders already awarded (in place) unless they specifically definitize its inclusion. The specific ECI we are using as the basis for adjustment is titled “WAGES AND SALARIES (not seasonally adjusted): Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries, private industry workers, by industry and occupational group”.
B.9.1 Frequency of Adjustment
The contract adjustment will be calculated three months prior to Option Period One using the latest ECI information available at that time (providing GSA a three month window to prepare the escalation documentation) and implemented at the beginning of year six (Option Period One – if exercised). The Government intends to use the average of the five previous full years of ECI data to make a one time contract escalation. This escalation will be applied one time to years six through ten ceiling rates and ceiling multipliers – to remain fixed thereafter.
The calculated escalation rate will be applied consecutively for years six through ten. This means that the escalation rate will have compounding effect for years six through ten. It will be applied one time for the option period as the RFP currently states. Each year in the option period will have separate pricing as a result.
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VETS GWAC
B.9.2 Materially Unbalanced Offers
Offerors shall offer pricing on all items correctly and price each item as specified. The Government will reject a mathematically unbalanced offer if the offer is also materially unbalanced. A mathematically unbalanced offer is an offer containing lump sum or unit price items that do not include reasonable labor, equipment, and material costs plus a reasonable proportionate share of the Offeror’s overhead costs, other indirect costs, and anticipated profit. An offer is materially unbalanced when the Government determines that an award to the Offeror submitting a mathematically unbalanced offer will not result in the lowest ultimate cost to the Government and/or not fair to other Offeror’s whose pricing is balanced.
The Government will pay particularly close attention to the Year Five (5) ceiling rates and ceiling multipliers being proposed by Offerors. These rates and multipliers will be used for extrapolating the Option Period One pricing for evaluation purposes. If the Government detects any unbalanced pricing in Year Five of the base period and/or “gaming” in order to have more favorable evaluated pricing for the Option Period, those offers will be rejected.
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VETS GWAC
B.10 FOREIGN AREA TRAVEL/WORK
The U.S. State Department, Bureau of Administration, Office of Allowances ( develops and coordinates policies, regulations, standards, and procedures to administer the government-wide allowances and benefits program abroad under the Department of State Standardized Regulations (DSSR).
The U.S. State Department sets per diem rate maximums for foreign areas, which are authorized for incorporation on individual orders by Ordering Contracting Officers (OCOs). For more information refer to The contractor’s handling rate for travel applies to all travel, be it domestic, non-contiguous or foreign.
The U.S. Department of State publishes quarterly report indexes of living costs abroad, quarters’ allowances, hardship differentials, and danger pay allowances ( Table 1 – Indexes of Living Costs Abroad; and Table 3 – Hardship Differentials and Danger Pay (with the exception of Danger Pay - see last paragraph in this section concerning travel warnings to Americans and Danger Pay locations) are specifically incorporated into the contract.